3 Israeli hostages – Alex Trupanov, Yair Horn and Sagui Dekel-Chen – set to be released from Gaza on Saturday

After the hostage deal appeared to be on the brink of collapse, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced they would release three Israeli hostages on Saturday, adhering to the terms of the ceasefire deal while ignoring U.S. President Donald Trump's ultimatum.

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel [the ceasefire], and all bets are off,” stated on Tuesday.

After the hostage deal appeared on the verge of collapse, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced the release of three Israeli hostages on Saturday, adhering to the agreement’s terms while disregarding U.S. President Donald Trump’s ultimatum.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group in Gaza, which cooperates with Hamas, announced it would release Alexander (Sasha) Trupanov (29), a dual Russian-Israeli citizen.

Shortly after, Hamas declared it would release Yair Horn (46) and dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen (36).

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) confirmed the list of names was received by Israel.

“This list is accepted by Israel and is being published with the families’ approval,” the PMO added.

With the announcements, the terror groups appeared to confirm their return to the hostage deal’s original terms, after claiming that Israel had made the concessions Hamas had demanded earlier this week.

On Monday, the terror group declared it would suspend upcoming planned rounds of hostage releases “indefinitely,” citing alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.

Trump warned that if all Gaza hostages were not released by noon on Saturday, the ceasefire would be canceled and restrictions on the IDF's military actions would no longer apply.

Israel endorsed this deadline with somewhat weaker language, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened that if Hamas does not return “our hostages” by Saturday noon, the ceasefire would end.

On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which is facilitating the exchanges of hostages for prisoners as part of the ceasefire agreement, stated it was “very concerned” about the conditions of the Israeli hostages remaining in Hamas captivity.

“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage. We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages,” the Red Cross stated.

“We have consistently reiterated that release and transfer operations should be carried out in a dignified and safe manner.”

The release of Trupanov comes after reports that Hamas had told Russia he was too sick to be released. Last month, a Russian diplomat said, “There is a firm promise from the Hamas leadership, given to the Russian side, that he will be returned alive and well.”

Trupanov was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz along with his mother and grandmother, who were released in the first hostage deal in November 2023. His father was murdered during the Hamas massacre.

Yair Horn was kidnapped by Hamas together with his brother Eitan, who is not slated to be released during the deal’s first phase.

On the morning of Oct. 7, Sagui Dekel-Chen was the first to raise the alarm in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

He made sure his pregnant wife and their children were safely locked in their bunker at home before joining the kibbutz's security team to repel the invasion. He fought for several hours before being kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.